Grace van Leeuwen
MD
Senior Attending, Pediatric Cardiac ICU | Co-Director, ECMO Program
Years of Experience: 23
Dr. Grace van Leeuwen is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar and has served as a Senior Attending in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU at Sidra Medicine since 2019. She is the Co-Director of the ECMO program, a member of the Ethics Committee, and oversees Qatar’s Neonatal and Pediatric ECMO transport. Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. van Leeuwen headed the Heart Center at Sabará Children’s Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, where she led the creation of Cardiac and ECMO programs that earned an ELSO Award of Excellence—the first for a hospital in Brazil.
Board-certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Critical Care, Dr. van Leeuwen is dedicated to delivering advanced, evidence-based cardiac and critical care. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations at Harvard Medical School to further refine her leadership and healthcare operational expertise.
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- Board Certifications: Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Critical Care
- Pursuing Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations (ongoing) – Harvard Medical School
- Senior Attending – Pediatric Cardiac ICU, Sidra Medicine
- Co-Director – ECMO Program, Sidra Medicine
- Assistant Professor of Pediatrics – Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar
- Member – Ethics Committee
- ECMO Educator – Providing high-fidelity simulation and debriefing worldwide
- Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care
- Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
- Congenital Heart Diseases
- Healthcare Operations & Service Optimization
- Interventional Pediatric Cardiology
- Co-Chair, Congenital Heart Academy – A web-based platform sharing scientific knowledge on congenital heart disease from fetal stages to adulthood
- Former Co-Chair, Marketing and Communication – 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery (Washington, DC, August 2023)
- Editorial Boards – ELSO ECMO Foundations Course; Congenital Heart Disease Journal
Dr. van Leeuwen is recognized as an ECMO educator, assisting providers worldwide in improving patient outcomes through advanced simulation and debriefing techniques.
- Alexander, P. M. A., et al. (2024). Definitions of adverse events associated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in children: results of an international Delphi process from the ECMO-CENTRAL ARC. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 8(10), 773–780.
- Ian Teixeira e Sousa, C., et al. (2023). End-of-life care in Brazilian Pediatric Intensive Care Units. Journal de Pediatria. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jped.2023.02.003
- Hejazi, Y., Mann, G., Boudjemline, Y., Udassi, J. P., Van Leeuwen, G., et al. (2021). Topsy-Turvy Heart with Aortopulmonary Window and Severe Airway Malacia: Prenatal Diagnosis and Review of the Literature. Pediatric Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-021-02710-1
- Pollak, U., Feinstein, Y., Mannarino, C. N., McBride, M. E., Mendoza, M., Keizman, E., Mishaly, D., Van Leeuwen, G., et al. (2022). The horizon of pediatric critical care. Front. Pediatr. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.863868
- Maratta, C., Potera, R. M., Van Leeuwen, G., et al. (2020). Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO): 2020 Pediatric Respiratory ELSO Guideline. ASAIO Journal, 66(9), 975–979.
- ELSO AWARD OF EXCELLENT IN EXTRACORPOREAL MEMBRANE OXYGENATION – SILVER, April 2022 – Sidra Medicine
- ELSO AWARD OF EXCELLENT IN EXTRACORPOREAL MEMBRANE OXYGENATION – SILVER 2019 – Sabará Children’s Hospital
- AWARD BEST ORAL PRESENTATION June 2009, Catheter atrial atrioseptostomy guided by two-dimensional echocardiography in a neonatal intensive care unit. XV Solaci Congress.
- AWARD BEST SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION, November 11, 2008, Unifocalization of the pulmonary circulation in a single time with extracorporeal circulation and performed through median thoracotomy. Oral Presentation. XX Brazilian Congress of Pediatric Cardiolog
- BEST ORAL PRESENTATION, March 26, 2009, Modified Norwood surgery performed with selective cerebral and coronary perfusion in left heart hypoplasia with extremely hypoplastic ascending aorta. Oral Presentation. 36th Congress of the Brazilian Society of C
- BEST POSTER PRESENTATION, March 26, 2009, Total staggered annuloplasty associated with the Alfieri plasty in the treatment of mitral insufficiency in the pediatric age group – Preliminary results. Oral Presentation. 36th Congress of the Brazilian Societ
Professional Statement
“My commitment is to advance pediatric cardiac critical care by combining clinical expertise, innovation in ECMO, and a passion for operational excellence. Through collaboration, education, and research, I strive to enhance outcomes for patients with congenital heart diseases—from neonatal stages to adulthood.”
To learn more or to schedule an appointment, please contact Sidra Medicine at 4003 3333.
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